Heading toward the bench after pregame warm-ups, the Hermitage boys basketball squad got a good laugh watching Patrick Henry go through their final vigorous drills. Those smiles quickly disappeared after tip-off as the Patriots ran out to an 18-point lead then held on for a 57-47 win over their Colonial District rivals.

  The victory could be contributed to a Patrick Henry defense that came onto the court with intensity and held Hermitage without a field goal until midway through the first half. Key on the stop was the quick hands and long wing-span of Sevon Morris. The 6-3 guard/forward not only is a proficient ball handler but regularly draws the assignment of stopping the opponent’s best shooter. His lanky form and long reach give him a big advantage at the task.

  “He has a tough load,” said Patrick Henry head coach Randy Anderson. “He’s worked hard all summer with it. I’m going to go with it and see how it turns out.”

  Morris enjoys the job he’s given. “I like guarding the best player because I’m the best defensive player and I’m going to stop the guy,” he said.

  Meanwhile the Patriot offense relied on Ray Minor (21 points), who became a 1000 point scorer the week before. Minor drilled a three from the left wing on their first possession.

  But Minor’s game is no longer just about scoring. “I raised a challenge to him,” Anderson said. “You know good players not only make themselves better but they get everybody else around them better and if you noticed he’s sharing the basketball. I told him I need you get more rebounds. I need more assists from you. I need him to fill the stat sheet up.”

  Minor appeared up the challenge and recognizes his own deficiencies. “It’s going good,” he said. “I’m forcing a lot of stuff at the end tonight. I’ve just got to work on that and slow the ball down.”

  Following Minor’s three, A.J. Jackson connected on a jumper than added a three for a quick 8-0 lead.

  Corey King took a feed from Niko Johnson for Hermitage’s first goal but Sevon Morris (17 points) answered with a three for the Patriots. Anthony Gaskins gave the Panthers another score but Tyler Dandridge out-dueled him with a three on the opposite end for a 14-5 PH lead.

  Throughout the night, Patrick Henry proved they could not be left open beyond the arc as they connected on 10 threes with very few misses.

  Patrick Henry started to break the game open in the second quarter with an 11-1 run for a 30-12 lead by the 5:12 mark.

  But Hermitage began to drive the ball against the PH defense to pick up fouls and score from the line. However the Panthers had difficulty converting from the stripe, going 17-30 on the night.

  Still, with 5:14 left in the third, Anderson was forced to call a timeout after Hermitage had trimmed the lead to eight, 39-31. His message was simple. “We need to be smarter and be patient; take our time,” Morris said.

  A basket by Gaskins trimmed the lead to seven but the Patriot offense suddenly returned. Logan Dandridge connected on a pair of free throws and Morris connected on back-to-back threes for a 48-33 lead that stretched to 67-50 with two minutes to play.

  The one constant deficiency in Patrick Henry’s game came in rebounding as they repeatedly got caught out of position when the ball came off the rim.

  “Out bigs and even our guards, whether it’s offensive or defensive, we have to learn how to get position,” Anderson said. “Sometimes we watch the game instead of reacting. We work on it and I hope it comes before tournament time.”

  “We always get under the basket at times,” Minor said. “We need to work on that in practice; just bad positions.”

  As the Patriots head into the second half the season Anderson feels there are still things to be worked on. “I was telling the guys we’re 13 games in and we still have to learn when we have a team down how to spread that lead out even more,” he said. “Then we’ve got to know how to finish games.”

  Consistency is the one thing Anderson desires most. “At times everything looks great,” he said. “The offense looks great. The defense looks great. But I want a whole 32 minute game. I want to put it together and I want everything to be executed on both ends of the court.”

  “We can’t take no breaks,” Morris said. “We’ve got to keep on playing defense 24/7. We can’t slow down.” 

PATRICK HENRY 67, HERMITAGE 57
HERMITAGE (4-10, 3-6 Colonial) — N. Johnson 3, Gaskins 21, Derricott 6, Golden 2, M. Spelman 5, Jefferson 9, Bembry 0, Lewis 0, King 11, Burnett 0. Totals 20 17-31 57.
PATRICK HENRY (8-5, 4-4) — Minor 21, L. Dandridge 8, T. Dandridge 6, A.J. Jackson 10, Morris 17, Wiltshire 1, D.J. Jackson 2, Jones 2. Totals 22 14-22 67.
Hermitage…..................... 11 10 18 18 — 57
Patrick Henry…............... 19 16 20 12 — 67
3-point goals — PH: Morris 3, A.J. Jackson 2, T. Dandridge 2, Minor 2.
Highlights — PH: Raymon Minor 10 rebounds.